Sunday, October 18, 2009

Finding the Time to Fit in Wine

Most nights after I've sung 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' (twice) and smiled hopefully through a trembling bottom lip (not mine, although with the amount of sleep I'm not getting it's a close run thing) I pad down the stairs to an empty kitchen intent on another fast dinner and a speedy trip into bed. Most nights I vaguely consider that this would be the time to sip a glass of wine, as I chop and stir and bolt down the meal. In another life I would have found it unthinkable to sit down to dinner without half a glass or so. I always appreciated the feeling chef Nigel Slater expressed when he reckoned that even a dinner alone was worthy of a decent drop. Nothing less than you would take to share with friends (as why would you treat yourself less well than those you love).Some nights I do pour a splash of whatever is lurking in the fridge but mostly it's pedestrian stuff, reliable and on special at the supermarket. A far cry from my working days as Sommelier.My little Sommelier is a joy but not conducive to contemplation of fine wine and in the heady-go-round of nursery rhymes and exploding nappies I'm left with little time for wine to fit in to life somehow.

My (Borrowed) Sup System

English writer Hugh Johnson suggests an alternative to the 100-point system, which you can use at home. The minimum score is one sniff, with a step up to one sip. Two sips indicate faint interest. One glass means tolerance, even general approval. Four glasses mean the wine tickles your fancy, and two bottles mean it's irresistible.

loving the sup

As an academically over-achieving waiter it's somewhat hard to take the leap into writing a blog about wine as mostly you get the feeling that there's far too much written on the subject already. Mostly vacuous (or not) wittering, concentrating on those wines that aren't achievable drinking for most of us. Except that I often get the chance to taste those wines (not drink, taste) on a daily basis. So it seemed a nice chance to meld my good fortune (is it good fortune to still be a waiter at my age?) with a desire to write and join the ranks of the great unwashed (literally, as you don't have to shower in order to share online - ah ew that's sounds a little gross).